Nice, sounds like a good trip. Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Javier Garcia <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 18:25:27 To: nighthawk_lovers<[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Nighthawk Lovers] Joey and Paula's Three Day Trip
Nice write up. I am eager to see the pictures. Javier. On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 4:37 PM, Joey Kelley <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello All, > Paula and I recently went on a three day trip through Maine, New > Hampshire and Vermont. We covered a total (per the Bike's trip meter) of > 705 miles. Here is our general route: http://bit.ly/1a1vb07 We did take > a couple of side trips and such here and there. > This was a trip of firsts - it was the first time that Paula had > spent any significant time in either New Hampshire or Vermont, it was the > first time either of us had gone motorcycle camping and although I've had > my motorcycle license for a long time now - it was the first time I've > operated a motorcycle outside the state of Maine. > The bike, a 2007 Yamaha V-Star 1300 Tour, ran like a Swiss watch, > loaded down with the two of us, and a good amount of gear. > We tried to avoid interstates and we did so, with the exception > of the portion from Augusta to Sanford, ME. Going down side roads through > this portion of Maine would have added several hours to the trip. > There are many different types of road trips - this one was a > free form trip with a minimal amount of planning involved. In fact, the > only two things we planned on were the campgrounds that we stayed at. Other > than that, the only 'objective' was to hit all three state capitols. > We left from Waterville, Maine after spending some time with > Paula's best friend at about 4:45 PM on the 18th. The last thing we did in > Waterville was have me blow out the candle on a cupcake - it was my > birthday. About 25 minutes later, we were at the Maine State House in > Augusta - photo taken, we topped off nearby and headed South. > Some months back - Javier Garcia and I had a discussion on GPS > bags - I wound up buying one that I felt had a better mounting than the one > he bought - http://amzn.to/18g3rWq - and this worked flawlessly all > through the trip - with a Garmin Nuvi inside. My idea of an easy, low > stress trip is to punch the destination into the GPS and improvise if you > get hungry or need fuel. This approach worked very well on this trip - as > we bailed off the Turnpike in Sanford, ME, and worked our way South, > pausing at the 'Welcome to New Hampshire' sign for a photo op. Stomachs > growling, we began to look for eateries and the points of interest in the > GPS worked out in our favor. We stumbled on 'The Farm' - > http://www.farmbargrille.com/dover/home - and I can tell you that the > burgers are quite good. After eating - we headed for our Campground - > http://www.saddlebackcampground.com/index.htm - SaddleBack in Northwood, > NH. We arrived at 9:15 PM or so - and managed to put together the two man > tent with the aid of a street light. Note for any tenters - do a test setup > of your tent before you try to use it in the field - it makes things > easier. We turned in - our Pond-front spot allowed us to be lulled to sleep > with the occasional croaking frog. > Morning arrived - we packed up and headed out. A secondary > objective for me at least, was to stay away from chain eateries and go to > local places, meet people, soak in the atmosphere. The Northwood Diner met > these requirements - including being owned by a fellow rider. The first not > so good news of the day was that rain was expected for that area. Breakfast > eaten - we were back on the bike and headed for Concord. Pulling up in > front of the State house - I setup the tripod, using the bike's handlebar > to hold it at the proper height. (It was designed for stuff like this - the > utility of the Gorilla Pod still amazes me - http://bit.ly/8Dplqc - check > them out) Since we left, we had discovered a flaw in the rigging holding > the sleeping bags on the top of the saddle bags. The straps were barely > long enough to do the job, and were very difficult to fasten. This, and an > insufficient sleeping pad required a brief run to the local Wal-Mart. What > we didn't pick up, or bring, was any sort of rain gear. This will come back > later in the story. Paula's do-it-yourself attitude and creativity had the > straps re-made in the Wal-Mart parking lot, as I stood there and wondered > what I've done to find this wonderful, handy, woman. I also took the > opportunity to check the GPS settings and discovered that I had neglected > to set it to ignore Interstates. That small change made and our journey > continued - headed for Montpelier, VT. Our route took us through Andover, > NH and a quick turn brought us to a stop at the Bear Hollow Trading Post - > http://www.bearhollowtradingpost.com/ - and upon our arrival, Molly, the > shop Boston Terrier came over to say Hi. Nice people and with the pending > opening of a bakery next door, it should be a great spot to stop for a > mid-ride snack. We were looking to start Paula's collection of 'States > We've Visited Shot Glasses' and were referred to the Colonial Pharmacy in > New London, known for having a selection of souvenirs. One purchase made - > one Happy Paula - we took a chance on MacKenna's Restaurant. I agree with > the trip adviser rating - http://bit.ly/10Qivbf - Average. We turned > Northwest again, pausing in White River Junction at the visitor's center, > located in the railroad station in downtown. Just a tip - if you're going > on a trip to Vermont - stop in New Hampshire if possible to fill up your > gas tank - once on the VT side of the border, the prices jump. > Both I 89 and Route 14 head Northwest out of WRJ - let me tell you > something, Route 14 is a very scenic piece of asphalt. A few miles up 14 > in Sharon, VT is the Sharon Trading Post. Quite possibly THE stereotypical > country store - Gas - a deli - the usual snacks and T-shirts that say > 'Sharon, VT - What happens here, stays here - but nothing ever really > happens here'. Yeah, I could have stayed for a while. It also happened to > be a spot to pick up the Vermont shot glass for Paula's collection - that > done - we rolled further North west. > A few miles up the road we encountered the first rain we really > hit the entire trip. It wasn't much - but it was enough to make us think > about adding some trash bags to our bags in hopes of keeping everything > dry. In addition we were getting to the point where I figured the reserve > fuel light could come on at any time. Not knowing the area - I tend to fuel > up early, not late. We pulled up a few towns later to a gas station and I > topped off the tank. The weather looked considerably clearer than it had > maybe a half hour earlier and I told Paula not to bother with the trash > bags. Mental note - 'Better to be safe than sorry' - remember and execute > that more often :-) > By the time we rolled into Montpelier, it was beginning to rain. > I setup the camera in front of the state house - using the bike as a tripod > holder again - and we jumped back onto the bike, after trash bagging our > baggage. It was a damp ride to St. Johnsbury - periods of rain mixed with > periods of drizzle. Given the rain - it was decided we would postpone > dinner until the tent was setup and we had at least stowed our gear. We > rolled into the Moose River Campground - https://mooserivercampground.com/ - > where we were met with a wonderful reception. Our site setup, we jumped > back on the bike and went for what might be the best pizza in St. Johnsbury > - http://bit.ly/16PRSYW - Ramunto's Brick Oven Pizza. Try one with 'The > Works' - you can thank me later :-) Back at the campground - the rain > continued off and on throughout the night. Our tent was located very close > to the nearby stream - and this bubbling soothing sound was one that was > very easy to fall asleep to. > The morning of the 20th, we awoke to a light rain that of course > got heavier as we broke camp. With the bike loaded, trash bags in place for > additional water proofing, we made for Littleton, NH. Although off our > route, it added a couple of nice opportunities - one, a Wal-Mart with Frogg > Toggs and two, the unexpected pleasure of the Littleton Diner, featured on > the Food Channel. Its worth the trip. An old diner thats been restored - > not updated - with good food: http://bit.ly/16PUh5H - Make the trip if > you can. After breakfast, we scooted up through Whitefield, NH and picked > up Route 2 east. A brief stop for a stretch and gas in Gorham, NH, we were > soon over the line and back in Maine. Turning left in Rumford, we made for > Kingfield, about 50 miles from the Canadian border. Being as we were on the > early side of the tourist season, we found the only restaurant in town open > - Longfellow's: http://www.longfellowsme.com/ - good food and a view of > the river out the back windows. > Taking the long way home, we dropped into Skowhegan, then down > Route 201 to Waterville, then cut over to the Unity and East on Route 9 > towards home. > We arrived - the Dog very happy to see both of us - and wished we > could have kept going :-) > An illustrated version of this trip report is coming - as soon as > I can get all the pictures from the various cameras together and posted. > Enjoy! > -Joey > > -- > -Joey Kelley > JoeyKelley.com - My Life Online > JoeyFixesComputers.com - Its What I Do! > JoeyKelleyPhoto.com - Photographing Today, For Tomorrow > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en-US. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. 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